​Mrs. Violette Kelley: Founder and President

​Violette Kelley was born in Haiti. In her early years she lived in poor conditions like most of the Haitian population. In Haiti schooling is far too expensive for most to consider; as a result, generations are locked into wretched poverty which is fuelled by Ignorance and illiteracy. At an early age Violette’s mother discovered a free school sponsored by Christian missionaries that would accept her young child. During her early years there a seed of hope was planted in her and she was inspired her to seek out her true destiny. A short time later, she had an opportunity to go to the US and continue her education. She was amazed to find that quality education in America was FREE. It was then that she vowed to help other children escape the grips of poverty by providing quality education at no cost---just as she did. ​

Violette kept her vow from her early childhood and in 2008 she and her husband founded the Jehovah Jireh School in Port Au Prince. They provided everything-- books, school supplies, uniforms, two meals a day and paid the teachers and staff. The period following the 2010 earthquake was a challenging time. The school was completely destroyed and every student and teacher suffered a loss in their families ….But through it all, God and a few committed believers in the dream, helped them overcome and re-establish the school.Today, her vision is grander than ever and includes:-Building a secondary school in the Croix Des Bouquet region; -Construction of Joshua House Orphanage in the Croix Des Bouquet countryside. -Plans self sufficiency for through a Co-Op Student Vegetable Garden and a Sustainable Fish Farming project.

Dr. Brian Kelley: President / Co-Founder

Dr. Kelley is a Professor for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas San Antonio. He received his Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1992. Brian is also the Co-Founder of Helping Hands International, along with his wife, Violette. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and three, beautiful daughters.

Our Board Of Directors

Jennie Jones:​Sr. Board Advisor

Jennie Jones is a board advisor for The Helping Hands International. She is passionate about helping the children in Haiti and has been a faithful financial and spiritual supporter of Jehovah Jireh Academy in Port–Au-Prince. She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas with three wonderful teenagers. Jenny is also the author of the novel Arlie’s Dreams and is currently working on a second book. ​

Sarah Hackley: Missions VP

Sarah has worked with The Helping Hands International since 2010. Before that she completed two tours working and living with the Embera tribes the Darian jungle regions of Panama. A recent graduate from Arcadia University’s School of Global Business . Sarah has worked as an intern for the Business Designers consulting group focusing on small business start ups and development. She studied and completed fieldwork in Bucharest, Romania. Sarah will blend her gifts and talents to develop our free school and create social enterprise businesses to develop self sufficiency for our Haitian ministry projects and create jobs at the same time.

Victoria Petree:​Sr. Board Member

Victoria was born and raised in Costa Rica. She taught English for two years in my country. She then moved to the United States in 1993 and started her journey as a Spanish teacher. Victoria holds a Bachelors of Arts-from the University of Costa Rica (English Literature). She is also a certified Spanish teacher. Victoria is currently a school counseling graduate student at the University of Texas San Antonio.

Myriam S. Coquillon:Sr. Board Member

"A great wisdom written by an unknown author best describes my feelings. Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." Three years ago, Myriam decided to become an elementary teacher. Her greatest passion is to educate people. As a teacher, she educates her students daily and their parents every chance she gets. She continues to practice real estate, because it helps her to educate her clients (buyers and sellers) and believes the more people are educated the better life they are able to conduct. Her education background includes a MA in International Business from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL and a M.Ed. from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. Her experiences include Banking, Management, Assistant Director of Admission of a college, Educational Coordinator, and presently a Teacher and Realtor. For that reason, Myriam continues to be part of HHI kids. Her vision is to educate children in order to help them feed themselves and their families prayerfully in the future.

Wade Petree:​Sr. Board Member

Wade Petree is originally from Roseville, Minnesota. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the US Army. During his 20 plus years in the US Army, Wade earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Maryland and a Masters Degree in School Psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University. While serving in the Army, Wade spent 2 months deployed to Port au Prince, Haiti, during operation "Uphold Democracy”. Wade is also an Iraq war veteran. He is currently employed by Comal Independent School District as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology.